Authorities and fishing communities in Mangochi District are excited about chambo fish boom in Lake Malawi as hinted by recent assessments in both Malawian and Mozambican waters.

Travellers along the southern shoreline of Malawi’s largest lake are bombarded with sales of the flagship tilapia, whose catches had fallen due to overfishing.

Chambo is Lake Malawi’s most famous fish

Speaking during a meeting in Malembo in Monkey Bay last week, Senior Chief Nankumba hailed local watchdogs, especially beach village committees and community policing forums, for vigilantly enforcing fisheries’ dos and don’ts.

The groups work closely with traditional leaders as well as village and area development committees in patrolling fishing grounds and making fisheries work.

The meeting convened the local actors with district fisheries officers and other change agents to share lessons from the Restoring Fisheries for Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi (Refresh) Project.

Fishing communities credit the project, implemented by Pact Malawi through Community Initiative for Self-Reliance (Ciser), with improving law enforcement and entrenching best practices to restore fish stocks.

Nankumba said: “It is pleasing that as you travel on the Mangochi- Golomoti Road, you see a lot of chambo on sale.

“This wasn’t the case three years ago. This shows that the population of our precious fish is growing.”

The chief is an eminent champion of fish conservation in the lakeshore district.

“I thank the Refresh Project for empowering the local committees to conserve fish, the main source of income and livelihood for most people along the lake,” he said.

Studies show Lake Malawi is home to over 700 fish species, but chambo is the most famous.

 District fisheries officer Neverson Msusa thanked the local players for relentlessly managing their fish sanctuaries, patrolling fishing hotspots and confiscating illegal fishing gear, which has created the breathing space for the famous fish to multiply.

The 2023 Biomass Survey by Malawi’s Department of Fisheries and the Oceanographic Institute of Mozambique indicates that chambo stocks are increasing in the shared lake.

The boat-aided assessment across Lake Malawi in Karonga, Nkhata Bay, Salima, Mangochi as well as Dangula in Mozambican water, called Lake Niassa, approximates fish population and species and water quality.

After the 32-day marine study, director of fisheries Dr Hastings Zidana reported that the highvalue fish is bouncing

back.

He stated: ‘‘Unlike the 2020 survey which revealed decreasing chambo fish, this time we have an increase in stocks

of young fish on Lake Malawi, which is exciting.

“If we have a lot of chambo in the lake, it means that we will have increased income for the country and improved

community livelihoods.”

The researchers attributed the chambo boom to the establishment of community-managed fish sanctuaries and

strict law enforcement by beachside fisheries committees. The Refresh Project is funded by USAid, the US Agency for International Development.

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